Alfred's Investigative Agency Case 3
by Weirdsisters99
Summary: Alice must return to England, but with three of their members still in America, will they be able to stop the demon that has been loosed on her hometown? Or will the memories of her past be too much for her to handle?
1. Chapter 1

Case #3 (part 1)

OVERSEER POV

*somewhere in between Scotland and Britain*

"Come one Charlie, lets do this." Dawn whispered giddily, pulling him towards the circle. "It's just fun and games. It isn't like this summoning spell will work. We all know that magic doesn't exist."

"I dunno, Dawn." Charlie chewed on his lip nervously. "Mum and Dad will be furious if we do something like this. You know how they are about the cult like stuff."

"Oh, come on. They don't have to know. Besides, it'll be fun."

Seeing how cheery this was making her, he said, "Fine. But only this one time." They finished the circle of other curious teens, some who even wore robes with weird looking symbols on them. They waited.

"Let us begin." The leader of the chant started and Charlie and Dawn joined in. Dawn closed her eyes, while Charlie kept his open.

"Azazeal Daemones appellamus: de deorsum nec eorum ut ostendat hoc circulo excedas." The room went quiet. Too quiet. The room went cold and a dark mist started to erupt from the circle on the floor.

"Dawn?" Charlie whimpered. She shushed him and didn't bother to open her eyes until it was too late. The mist had her. "Dawn!" He screamed as the mist grabbed him too.

ALICE POV

"These are the wrong type of ruins." Alice announced after studying the circle long enough. Angus looked at her with a raised eyebrow but said nothing. For once her 40 year old half-brother's silence was appreciated by the hung over Brit. Being the head of Scotland Yard, he had given them clearance to look at the 'disappearance scene' of twelve teenagers. The whole case was a mystery and he had called her and Alfred to come check it out. "These ruins summon trolls, but the scrolls that they were reading off of summons a demon." Turning to look at the others she said. "These kids are dead and they have let loose one hell of a demon."

"How do you know?" Angus asked pointedly, his Scottish accent leaking through.

"I'm a sorceress. I memorized demon chants and angel chants when I was five. Trust me, I know my spells and runes." Alice glared at him.

"But Mum and Dad said that you-" She cut him off.

"We are not to bring them up. Ever. Is that clear?" Venom dripped from her voice. She was already fairly buzzed, but she would still be unable to talk about her parents. Thank goodness Alfred was back at the hotel, looking at other strange occurrences since the disappearances of the teens. He wouldn't have let her off as easy as Angus. Her companions looked at her with surprise. Francis was the only one who knew of her 'family matters' but he was back home with the two girls, still recovering from the Fox Demon case. Felicia had yet to wake up and the absence of her normal cheeriness was obviously weighing everyone down, and Maddie, not doing much better.

"What kind of demon are we dealing with then, aru?" Tao asked finishing her own examination of the incantations. "I honestly cannot read these."

Alice paused, regaining her composure. "Azazeal. The betrayer of Eden."

"Isn't that the demon that..." Angus trailed off, seeing the not so hidden pain in her eyes. It was him. He was the reason that she... She pushed the memory away. She was back in Europe and it was getting to her. The instinct to run was getting stronger and stronger, but she stood her ground. She would not fail to fight against him again.

"Yes," she replied briskly. Her friends were confused by this shortness. She wasn't this short with them, ever. "We'd better get to the hotel. Alfred will have found something by now." They nodded and started on their way. She stayed when Angus grabbed her wrist.

"You know, you don't think straight when you're drunk, lass. I would lay off of the strong liquor for a while. Even if it does... dull the pain of being back here." Angus gave her an apprehensive look. "You've got better friends now. Don't push them away just because you don't wanna get hurt." He let go but not before he said, "You should talk with Mum and Dad. I know they told you to never see them again, but still you should see 'em."

"I'd rather die." She snapped bitterly, stalking off towards the car.

Translations:

Azazeal Daemones appellamus: de deorsum nec eorum ut ostendat hoc circulo excedas- Demon (specifically Azazeal) summoning spell that is really whacked if you translate it so I'm not even gonna try.

Author's Notes:

Yeah, I am so happy! We get to see from an angsty Alice's POV of what her past is. Score! I know that this was a super short chapter, but hey it introduces the case and I figured it was fine. Yes, Alice is going to be drunk for more than half of the storyline of this because she can't handle the stress of being back in England for reasons which you will learn soon. Be prepared for more Alice and Alfred banter in the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Case #3 (Part 2)

ALFRED POV

"We're back, what do you got, idiot?" Alice shouted, slamming the door behind her. The respected idiot looked up from his mountain of papers. Alfred had become used to sensing her mood on how she closed doors. Today she was beyond ready to murder someone. He could instinctively tell that he would probably earn most of her wrath in an instant. She rounded the corner of their shared hotel room and looked at him, expecting an answer.

"I ain't got anything." He said, purposefully misusing the grammar. She either ignored him, which she never did, or didn't realize that he had said it wrong. Instead, she promptly throttled him for the fifth time this week.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T FOUND ANYTHING! WE NEED TO FIND THIS DEMON SOON OR-"

"Wait… we're looking for a demon?"

"YES YOU BLOODY IDIOT!"

"Oh, that information would have been helpful. I was looking for signs of monsters indigenous to England, not a demon sign. Now I have to start all over again." He whined. Alice slapped him on the back of the head and flopped down onto her bed, covering her eyes with her arm. He watched her. She had been holding herself in a stiff fashion since their plane had landed yesterday and had immediately gone on an 'errand' coming back very late at night, tired and immediately fell to sleep. When he had woken up that morning, she was already up and cooking for them, which never happened. Alice was being plain down irritable and taking it out on everyone (i.e. why she was cooking). He was starting to get concerned. Was it something he had done? He hoped not. He liked it when she was happy.

Seeing the glares that she was giving him, he promptly went back to his papers, scanning for any sign of supernatural occurrences. Then he found it. "Hey, listen to this. 'Early this week another strange accident occurred near Ladykirk Church, north of River Tweed. Witnesses say that there was a strange man in the middle of the road which caused a crash as cars swerved to avoid hitting the man. Later, when the wreckage was examined yet again, there was no sign that there was a man even there. Authorities are still puzzled and tell people to be aware on the road since this is the third accident this week. If anyone knows what is going on, please let the authorities know,'"

Alice swore colorfully, jumping onto her feet. "Why is he intent on torturing me?!" She screamed at no one in particular, pulling her coat on. "When I find him I swear I will make sure he can never return from the dead!"

"Woah, woah, woah. What are you going off about, Alice? You need to calm down." Alfred forced her to sit down. Sitting next to he wrapped her in a hug. She smells nice, he thought for a split second before shaking his thoughts as she fought him off. Where had that come from?

"Don't do that you bloody wanker!" She hissed, glowing a bright red. Her eyes were bleary and tears were starting to form.

"Alice, I-"

"Alfred? I need to speak with Alice- Did I interrupt something?" Tao asked, entering the room to see the two adoptive siblings.

"I'm going out with Tao. Bye." She hurriedly said, grabbing the confused Asian woman in the process. Alfred sat there for a while, almost as confused as Tao had been. Then he pouted. Why did Alice want to hang out with Tao more than him?

"Alfred?" Ivan's voice called out from the hall. Alfred went out to see the other boys staring at him.

"What?" He asked in a normal voice, trying to mask the fact that he was upset..

"Where did Tao and Alice go off to?"

"I dunno. Alice just stormed off."

"Vhat did you do now?" Ludwig came out of the room he and Ivan shared.

"I didn't do anything! Why do I always get blamed?!"

"Because you do not alvays see the mood of the situation."

"Da." Ivan agreed. grinning as the American seemed on the edge of exploding.

"I don't like either of you right now." Alfred pouted, folding his arms. Silence.

"Right now Felicia would tell us to be nice, da?" Ivan whispered forlornly. They nodded. "I miss наш итальянский друг." Ivan only spoke what they all thought. Being the secondary kid of the group, Alfred being the first, he immediately switched gears. "Let us go watch television."

"I won't say no to that," Alfred said, pulling the stiff German after them. They all sat down on one of the two twins in the room, Alfred and Ludwig taking one while Ivan used up most of the other. The news was about the only interesting thing on, so they watched as the news took a sudden turn for the worse.

A woman was standing near what seemed to be a crash sight. Four cars piled on top of each other were smoldered into near unrecognizability. "We bring you breaking news," The woman on the screen said, "Another accident has occurred near Ladykirk Church. Being the fourth accident this week, authorities are now caution you and your families to avoid traveling on this road since it seems to be a cause of many accidents. There is still no news on whom or what is causing these strange accidents. Back to you Michael."

The scene switched to the main broadcasters. Both seemed shocked by this turn of events. "Wow. I haven't seen this many accidents in a row since that one time six years ago. On that same road even! Something strange is sure going on around there."

Ivan turned off the television. "That must be what we are dealing with, da?"

"Yeah, Alice exploded when I told her about the accidents from the paper. Something about someone being intent on torturing her or something." Alfred shrugged, a frown on his face.

"Did she say vhat Azazeal meant? She mentioned the names earlier."

"No, she didn't even tell me what happened while you were gone."

"She seemed very… what is word in English?" Ivan looked to them for help.

"Troubled? Upset? About ready to kill her brother?" Ludwig suggested.

"Wait! You guys saw Seamus? Or was it Dylan? Oh, I know, it was Peter!"

"Who's Seamus?" Ivan asked. "Or Dylan? Or Peter?"

"Alice has like four half brothers, one of which, I can never seem to remember the name of, and I'm the adopted one. Which one was it?"

"The guy from Scotland Yard, Angus, I believe." Ludwig said.

"Really? She avoids Angus at all costs I wonder why she would talk to him." Alfred trailed off into his own thoughts.

"We are confused. Could you please explain?" Ivan interrupted his thoughts.

"Sure. There isn't much to tell. Angus is the oldest, his mom was Scottish but she died when he was two. He is now part of Scotland Yard and tries to avoid any type of magic since that is what killed his mom. Then there is Seamus and Dylan. They're really close because Alice's Dad, Arthur, was double dating to the extreme, so they are basically twins. Dylan is now a writer and Seamus is going to college to be a doctor or something. They don't really talk to us much. Alice is the second youngest, and the only girl. Angus, Seamus, and Dylan are a lot older than her so Arthur and Elizabeth, Mrs. Kirkland, had another kid. That's Peter. He is such a pain and is always trying to be better than everyone. Anyways, The Kirklands wanted another boy, one who could do magic unlike the rest of them, so they adopted me. I may not have magic, but I could sure fool them with my magic tricks. And that is the Kirkland family."

"That is a lot of kids." Ivan mused. "But why are we not meeting rest of Alice's family?"

"I don't know. Once Alice was eighteen she just up and left the house. Doesn't talk much with them. They haven't really gotten along very well since she was fifteen. I think there was a fight and both sides are still angry. It's best not to talk about it with her. She can be… sensitive about it."

"And by sensitive you mean…"

"Really angry."

"Of course."

Translations:

наш итальянский друг- our Italian friend.

Author's Notes:

By the way, for future reference, if I genderbend a character, then their parent of the opposite gender is going to have their normal human name and the one of the same gender is going to have one of the less used versions of theirs. Anyways I hoped you liked this chapter. We will eventually find out what happened between the Kirkland family. I don't really have anything else to add to this so let's go onto the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Case #3 (Part 3)

TAO POV

"Alice? What are you doing?" Tao gasped as she was dragged along the streets of Coldstream. "That hurts, aru!" Her arm felt about to be yanked off when Alice hurriedly turned down a not as much used street. The Brit let her go. Rubbing her shoulder and arm, Tao watched as her friend leaned on a wall for support, breathing in and out heavily. Concerned, she asked, "Are you sure you're alright, aru?"

"I'm fine!" Alice growled. That was clearly a lie. Tao folded her arms and looked at her companion expectantly.

"No you are not. I can't believe you would lie to me. We are friends, aru. What has gotten into you? You've been acting up since we arrived. Please, tell me what the problem is."

"I…" Alice trailed off, "I- I can't. Too painful." Her breathing picked up again, and she rubbed her head. "Let's just… What were you going to talk to me about?"

Not approving of her friends change of direction, but courteous of her friend's wishes, Tao said. "I ran a few of my programs on Azazeal's name. I wanted to let you know that this isn't the first time someone has gone after Azazeal. The last time Azazeal was successfully gotten rid of was-"

"Six years ago. April 12th." Alice finished for her.

"Yes, how did you know that, aru?"

"Because I was there."

Tao looked Alice over again, she couldn't have been more than fifteen at the time. "What do you mean, aru?"

"I saw the exorcism. It was an initiatory test for one of our coven's newest addition." Alice breathed in sharply, her eyes stuck in the past as if seeing it for the first time. "But that was a long time ago."

"But, aru, we can use what you remember to exorcise this thing!" Alice shook her head.

"The young one failed. The elders did it. I don't know how to do the spell." That was a lie but before Tao could argue, Alice was off again.

"Yúchǔn de yīngguó rén, tāmen xūyào de shì shénmì." Tao cursed under her breath and ran after her friend. Weaving in and out of streets that were a nightmare from the roads. That was when they saw the accident. A car was off to the side- tipped over with glass littering the ground. Alice was standing behind the yellow tape, face showing a face that reminded Tao of horror and hate. Coming up behind her, Tao asked, "Is this the work of the thing we are after?"

Alice seemed to not hear her, muttering what seemed to be a mix of latin and the name Azazeal. Tao took it as a yes. When Alice forced herself out of her shock she hurried past the tape, screaming profanities when the police wouldn't let her more than a couple of feet in. "Call Angus of Scotland Yard." She barked. "Now! Or get out of my way!"

The call was made and the beyond crazy (as Tao saw it) Alice was let past. "Damn it! He was here." Alice whispered. She turned to look at a person that was being interrogated by an officer. "Excuse me? I am here to help," she explained in a forced kind voice, "could you tell me if you saw a shadowy looking man in front of the car?"

"Y-yes."

"And did you see him go anywhere after that?"

"He, he seemed to turn towards the church, th-then he just disappeared." The witness managed. The police seemed skeptical about this, and continued the questioning. Alice however, stormed off towards the church.

Tao watched as she hesitated, before entering the holy building. A sign on the door said that it was closed for remodeling, but as she followed her friend inside, there seemed to be nothing of the sort. But there was something off. Written across the stand for the church leaders was a carved in message. Come And Get Me, Little Lost Alice. Alice was standing in front of it, tense beyond compare. "Alice? Are you alright, aru?"

"Why? Why?! WHY!?" She screamed in return, slamming her fist into the woodwork. She fell to her knees, and began to sob. Tao was surprised by the sudden show of emotion. The Chinese woman hurried to her side and forced her into a hug. What the hell was going on? Why was Alice acting like this? The calm and collected Alice had turned into a blubbering mess just by being back in England. What had happened to her?

"Let's get you home." Tao finally managed after a couple of minutes. Alice was already fast asleep.

Translations:

Yúchǔn de yīngguó rén, tāmen xūyào de shì shénmì- Stupid Brits, and their need of being mysterious (Chinese- duh)

Author's Notes:

So, how do you like it? These chapters are getting surprisingly shorter, I hope you guys don't mind. Anyways, I don't really have anything more to say. See you next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

Case #3 (Part 4)

ALFRED POV

"So what do you think is going on with her?" Tao asked after she had finished her tale. The others were all sitting around a table that had been covered in an assortment of papers, but had been cleared off so they could discuss the matter at hand. Alice. The mentioned Brit had been asleep for the past couple of hours, having come home in the arms of Tao. That had begun this meeting of 'figure out what is wrong with Alice'. Everyone turned to look at Alfred.

"I got nothing." He shrugged glancing out of the window. The weathers seemed to reflect the mood of the meeting, dismal grey skies began to let droplets of rain fall against the houses and windows. Apparently London wasn't the only place that the weather was dismal.

"Are you sure? I mean, she is your sister." Ivan said, "Siblings always know what is bothering the other." He spoke like he knew from experience.

"I was adopted when we were both teenagers! I don't think that counts!" He threw his hands up in the air. "We could ask Angus, he would know!" He pulled out his phone and dialed the number.

"Angus here."

"Hi, it's Alfred."

"Oh, hello Alfred. Why do you call?"

"We were wondering what is wrong with Alice."

"... What do you mean?"

"Well she's kind of been super grumpy since she got here."

"... I can't think of why that might be. Ask her." And with that the Scottish man hung up. He was obviously lying. Alfred frowned as he put down the phone.

"That was weird."

"Vhat?" Ludwig asked

"He said he didn't know anything, but he was obviously lying."

"Maybe he thinks that we should know what is wrong." Tao suggested. "I mean, we are her friends. But she doesn't want to open up."

"I know. Something about this case just doesn't feel right. Why is she getting so worked up over this demon?"

"It's personal to her." Tao said. "She was at the excorcism for it last time."

"She was?"

"Shì de. I mean yes. She told me that earlier, did you not know, aru?"

"I didn't have a clue." Alfred looked down at his hands. He glanced back at the joint room that Alice was sleeping in. "I've got to be the worst brother ever." He rubbed his face in exhaustion. Then it clicked. "Wait, doesn't that mean that she knows how to get rid of the demon?"

"She said that she didn't. The exorcism wasn't successful and the elders did it somewhere else, but she was obviously lying. Do you think that she's scared to do it?"

"Probably, otherwise she wouldn't be acting up like this."

"What are you bloody idiot's doing, having a meeting without me?" A tired voice called from behind them. Alfred turned to see that Alice was leaning against the doorway.

"Your exhausted, go back to bed." He said.

"No. We need to finish the case."

"Are you going to be able to? Or are we going to have to make you sit out on this one?" He shot back. She glared at him.

"Why?"

"You know why."

"No, I don't. Enlighten me."

"Alright, for one, you have been acting out of it this entire trip. Two, you won't tell us what the hell is going on. And three, you're becoming too emotionally invested. The last time I saw you cry yourself to sleep was six years ago after you came back from-" He stopped as it came back to him. ~ "Alice?" Alfred had only been with them for a year and could tell that his older adoptive sibling was sobbing from behind the door. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just leave me alone!" She yelled.

"Did something happen at the initiation?"

"N-no." She lied. He could hear her voice start to squeak.

"Please don't lie to me, and let me in. I promise I won't do anything bad." He begged. The door clicked open and he saw a tear stained face. She pulled him into a hug and began to cry again. "Did you do something bad?" Alfred asked, wondering if that was why she had been sent to her room. Mr. and Mrs. Kirkland were both very upset downstairs, and had even lost their temper with Peter, who never got yelled at.

"I screwed up so bad!" She finally blubbered. She wouldn't say anymore, and he just held her up. He clenched his fist, he would hurt whomever made Alice cry.~ "Oh."

"Oh, what?!" Alice snapped.

"Six years ago. You tried to get into that coven right?" Everyone's eyes rested on Alice. She bit her lip. "You were that initiate that Tao was talking about. Weren't you?"

Her gaze grew in fire, but behind those eyes he could sense the regret and despair grow. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do."

"It would make sense. da?" Ivan piped up. "That is why you have hard time with exorcisms." Alice looked like she had been slapped, and Alfred panicked. But instead of the violent reaction he was expecting, Alice just stormed out of the room, jacket in hand. The room was silent as they tried to figure out what had just happened.

Alfred swore and jumped out of his seat first. "We need to find Alice, before she does something scary." The others nodded and got up, each stating where they would search. Alice, he pleaded, please be okay.

Translations:

Shì de- Yes (Chinese)

Author's Notes:

Hello! So how did you guys like this latest edition of 'Let's see how much the author can push Alice into exploding'? I am a horrible person. (Oliver Kirkland: "Yes, yes you are." Me: "Shut up, at least I don't like to make meat pie!" Oliver: "What did you say!" Starts to tackle me). Anyways, I hope you liked this. I have got to say that this is probably my most sad and angsty tale so far. I feel giddy to be writing it. (Slams head against computer. "WHY AM I SUCH A BAD PERSON!?"). I'm gonna go and work on the next chapter now…


	5. Chapter 5

Case #3 (Part 5)

ALFRED POV

The rain began pouring harder. Stupid European weather. Not wanting to stop looking for his missing companion, but not wanting to catch a cold either, Alfred detoured into the nearest building. The smell of smoking and alcohol overtook the air, almost making him hurl. Looking around he saw that he had ended up in a pub. A flash of blonde hair caught his attention. A girl his age was sitting at the bar, leaning over the wooden countertop like a dead person. He came closer and soon recognized the biker vest and the jacket on the back of the seat. "Alice?" Alfred asked, incredulously. "What are you doing here?" He had never seen her anywhere near a bar or pub. Ever.

"Havin' fun, obviously..." She slurred. She looked at him with bleary eyes that seemed already far gone and smiled at him vacantly. Her face was red and stained with dried tears. In her hand was a near empty glass of alcohol.

"Alice, are you drunk?"

"Of coursse not."

"Yeah, you're drunk."

"No! You don't listen you never list'n." She yelled, taking another swig. "You never or do as your told... You're just like them, never listenin' to a word I say. Your not even really here, jusst a figment of my imagination that I see that triess to convince me that I'm important. Just like all those other timess..." So this wasn't the first time she had been drunk? "Anywayss, It's not like I wanted to be unable to do the spellss right." She threw the empty bottle at his direction, and Alfred ducked on time for it to shatter on the wall behind him. She pouted at him not being hit by her projectile.

"What are you going on about?"

"Mum and Dad don't love me. They only wanted my power. Power I don't have. I can't do a single spell righ'. That'ss why they told me to never go back home... They don't love me." She admitted sadly. That explained it. The arguments he had only caught glimpses of, why she had left so suddenly, it all made sense.

"So Mom and Dad kicked you out because you have a hard time with magic?"

"I'm supposed to be the greatest sorceress of all time, two magic sidess and everythin'... And that isn't even the worst part."

"And what's that?" Alfred asked, pulling off his soaking wet coat. It didn't seem like he'd be leaving anytime soon.

"I'm in love with you, the greatest idiot of all time who is also my adoptive brother. It'ss sickenin'." Alfred nearly dropped his coat. She was what?!

"What?" His face went a brighter red than hers was.

"See you don't listen..." She started to get distracted again before snapping back. "You're grossed out by it too, don't deny it. Francis was too when I told him, back when we w're datin'. I'm one sick person aren't I?"

"No it's not that," Alfred chose his words carefully. "It's just a lot to take in. Could you give me a sec?"

"Go ahead, you'll just disappear in a moment anywayss." She turned back to the bartender and ordered another drink. Alfred turned to his thoughts. Is this why she was so mean to him? She was unable to express her true feelings so she used her anger instead? And why was he okay with this? They were siblings! Adoptive siblings, a voice at the back of his mind said, technically you aren't siblings. You did meet her when you were thirteen and she was fourteen. It wouldn't count.

"Alice... doesn't it not count if you're only adopted siblings. We did basically meet each other when we were almost full grown."

"It doesn't count as incest if that's what you're asking." She muttered, drowsiness apparent in her voice. "But it would still be looked down upon. See, I'm the black sheep of the family. A good for nothing load of-"

"Don't you dare say that about yourself!" He growled, clenching his fists. "Look I feel the same way, but I dismissed it as a sibling bond! If anyone is to be called disgusting it's me, for not noticing this earlier. You've been getting wasted over your jerk parents and me for who knows how long, and I hadn't even noticed!" He slammed his fist on the table. Alice jolted before returning to her somber state. Her glass rolled lazily on the floor, the rest of her drink along with it. Turning to the staring bartender, Alfred placed some money on the table, "Sorry for the inconvenience I hope this takes care of your troubles." Helping Alice to her feet and putting his jacket over her shoulders not trusting her thin one to keep her warm, he said, "Come on, let's go back to the hotel."

"I don't wanna go back," she whined, "I'll have to pretend that everything is okay again. And then the real you will just continue being..." Alice paused to try and find the word, "stupid."

"I'm the real Alfred." Alfred sighed as they plunged out into the weather. Within minutes he was soaked to the bone

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"Nope, you're acting smart so I won't believe you." She insisted. He rolled his eyes and held out a hand for a cab.

"You know for someone who insists that they are smarter, you sure are acting stupid." She tried to say something but all that came out was an unintelligible reply. Suddenly, she heaved on the sidewalk. "Eww, you couldn't wait 'til we got to a bathroom or something?" A cab pulled itself in front of them, skirting around the throw up.

"Shut up," she snapped before stumbling into the cab. The ride was a silent one. The pitter pattering of rain, the only sound. Alice kept nodding off before returning to reality, refusing to sleep until they got to their hotel.

"It really okay if you go to sleep, you know. I'll make sure that you get into a nice soft bed." Alfred broke the silence.

"Not on my life, Frog. How did you get here anyways, Francis?" She muttered on between fluttering of tear reddened eyes. So now she thought he was Francis? She must really be drunk or doesn't hold her liquor well. He smiled as she finally drifted off, kissing her on the forehead.

"Your friend 'lright?" The cabbie asked.

"Yeah, just had a rough day at work."

"That sucks. She have a boyfriend?" The cabbie asked with interest. Alfred clenched his hand before saying.

"Now she does."

ALICE POV

Alice opened her eyes hesitantly, not trusting that she wasn't extremely hungover. She could barely remember the night before. Imaginary Alfred had been there along with all of her other made up drinking 'hallucinations'... She had talked to him about the normal stuff... They had gone to the car... That's where she drew a blank. What had happened after that? She had to have made it to the hotel room. Giving in, she opened her eyes to see the drawn shades of her window, not letting any light through. Odd. She could've sworn that she had had them open before. A shuffling sound came from the opposite twin bed. Alfred was asleep on top of the covers, the dolt. She smiled softly to herself, before rubbing her head.

Sitting up, she was met by sudden dizziness and an all too familiar nauseous feeling. How much had she drunk last night? A bucket was thankfully beside her bed and she was able to rid herself of the contents of her stomach. Her wrenching woke up Alfred, and he hurried over, rubbing small circles on her back and holding her hair out of her face. "Good to see you awake, even if you are throwing up." He said.

"What do you mean?" She asked once her stomach calmed.

"When we got to the hotel you wouldn't wake up so I thought I should stay up with you, must've fallen asleep though." He explained. She turned bright red. Had he found her drunk? Crap. "I was really worried, the cabbie had to help me carry you upstairs. He was really nice, if not a bit of a pervert." He handed her a cup of water, helping her sip slowly.

"You mean, that was really you at the bar?" Alice whispered in horror. "And you heard me say all those things?"

"Yep, told you I was real, but you didn't seem to believe me. So you remember what happened?" She nodded. "See, you are stupid!"

"Shut up." She grumbled. There was silence between them. "So, I guess you'll be avoiding me then?" Alfred gave her one of the most confused looks.

"What? Why would I be avoiding you?"

"I'm your sister and I love you in a non-platonic way, isn't that reason enough!" She growled, he didn't need to pity her.

"I thought we went over this already, I like you too!" He smiled wildly to her surprise. She blushed and looked away, how did she forget that part? "Now, are you better?" He was back to being concerned. "I mean, are you going to be okay with the case? It would really help." He rubbed the back of his head to show how unsure he was about her reaction. She smiled.

"I won't be of much use, but if you would like, I will help as much as I can."

Translations:

OMG! Nothing goes here for once!

Author's Notes:

Aw that was so adorable… I think I'm going to be sick. It was a fairly long chapter, again. I had this chapter planned for so long, I'm so glad that it is over with. So what do ya'll think? Don't worry, more action is going to come, just hold your horses. I hope you had fun with this. Now that I am done torturing Alice, I'm moving on to the actual Azazeal exorcism. The joy.


	6. Chapter 6

Case #3 (Part 6)

Alice POV

"So what you are telling us is that we were right about you being the person who failed to exorcise Azazeal? Why didn't you just tell us in the beginning?" Tao asked, a slight accusing tone in her voice. The group meeting was starting to get on Alice's nerves. Everyone would stare at her, more for the fact that she was basically sitting in Alfred's lap (though she had almost killed him for suggesting it, she realized that she wasn't very strong and needed something to lean on). Most of her torso was covering his, and she was blushing madly. Now she had no room to accuse Francis of being so overly mushy with Maddie.

"I'm embarrassed by it. I was disowned because I didn't complete it. It's a very touchy subject." She admitted, feebly. It wasn't the best excuse, and she had acted like a child.

"But you should have trusted us!"

"I told Francis a while ago, look how that turned out." Alice growled. "Anyways, Azazeal is a really top-notch demon. If we're going to sick this one, we have to use the proper incantation and ingredients-"

"But who will do the exorcism? You said you could not do it, da?" Ivan pointed out. There was an uneasy air.

"Y-yes. I'm sure that Tao could do it."

"I'm nowhere as talented as you are Alice, don't lie to yourself. I won't be able to do it." Tao sputtered.

"Well I can't bloody do it either, now can I?" Alice snapped.

"I think you can." Alfred spoke for the first time. That was unusual, at least him being quiet was, he had always had faith in her. "You were just a little out of it when you tried out, weren't you? Besides you killed that Fox Egg in the last case."

"That was you?!" Everyone else exclaimed. Alice sighed and nodded. She had not wanted them to know of that. Now they would expect greater things from her, just like her mum and dad. She shifted uncomfortably, furthering herself into Alfred's warmth. Her headache throbbed the more she fretted internally. Realizing that she had been missing on the others talking to her, she tuned back in. "- how did you?"

"What? Kill the Fox egg?" Nods. "It was just luck. I was so frustrated that my magic just worked for once."

"I doubt that it was luck, aru. That was a very powerful spell that you would have had to use. Are you lying again?"

"Not every thing I bloody say is a lie!" She shouted at the Asian, who backed up in fright. "Look, I'm a little tired and wasted. Can we just talk about this later?"

"No, if we don't do the exorcism soon, more people will die. We have to do this within the next two days. What are the ingredients? We can figure out who will do it later."

"Lots of salt, lamb's blood, a few finger bones, holy water, and devil's bit."

"What's devil's bit?" Alfred asked once the others had gone with the weird shopping list.

"A type of lily with barbs. It channels the demonic properties in the spell. What did you think it was?"

"I dunno, some penny or rock that the devil bit."

"The devil isn't real."

Alfred looked away from her for a bit, embarrassed. "Uh, he kind of is."

"What?! You told me that you didn't believe in that kind of stuff!"

"Yeah, well, he's in my dad's book. No offense, but I'd trust my dad over you any day." She smacked him playfully. "At least he doesn't slap me as much."

"Shut up."

"Nah, I like to hear myself talk."

"Well I don't."

"Is that your hangover talking? Because I distinctly remember you telling me that I had a wonderful voice when you were drunk."

"I- I did no such thing!"

"Really?" He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

She gave him a pointed glare before saying, "Do I need to cook tonight?"

"No please-no-I-didn't-mean-to-insult-you,oh-pretty-please-don't!" he exclaimed. He was about to get up and beg, when she put a hand to his stomach.

"Stay. You're my new pillow, and I still don't like you."

"Nope, you love me." He crooned.

"And people wonder why I beat you up so much, you really are a dolt…" she drifted off into sleep.

Translations:

OMG! Nothing goes here for a second time!

Author's Notes:

This chapter was short, I apologize, but the next chapter is where they go against Azazeal, and I needed a bridge of some sort. I had planned on this chapter of having no fluffiness, but obviously that didn't pan out. There was a smidgen of cuddly fluff that made me think of the Colors of Evil, youtube video (Which is really hilarious and my basis for Alice's curmedgedness). Anyways, I don't think there is going to be many more chapters, since I only have around two to three and maybe an epilogue or result one planned. Get ready for the action.


	7. Chapter 7

Case #3 (Part 7)

ALICE POV

Alice let out a breath of cold air, watching as Tao finished the circle. The salt, holy water, and blood had been mixed into a paste, with the bones and fragments of devil's bit sitting on the edge of the 8 direction marks. Just being back in the church was putting her on edge. At any moment she expected a ghost or some form of a ghoul to attack them from the walls. Tao had finally relented, after seeing this, and had agreed to do the spell, saying that Alice would just owe her. Ivan and Ludwig had taken their normal spots of being near the circle but not in it, just in case something like last time happened.

"You okay?" Alfred asked as they were about to begin. She shivered but nodded. It was like her gut was telling her that something was off, but she knew that there was nothing there. She looked at Tao to begin.

"Azazeal Daemones appellamus: de deorsum nec eorum..." Alice tuned the spell out, though she found herself mouthing the words. A flicker of sickly green mist entered the circle as the demon was pulled towards the power source. Out of the corner of her eye, Alice caught a glance of something odd. A woman wearing old nun clothes was standing in a nearby room. What was a nun doing there? Figuring that she should warn the older woman to get her out of there, she left a humming Alfred behind.

"Excuse me…" The woman had disappeared, "... ma'am?" The door behind her slammed close. She yelled in a mix of fear and frustration, and tried to kick the door down. It wouldn't budge. She was trapped.

ALFRED'S POV

A scream from the other room stole his and the other's attention. He went to grab Alice's hand to follow him, but she wasn't at his side. Where was she? "Crap!" He bit out as he realized who the scream had come from. The green mist in the circle seemed to notice the change of focus and Alfred could swear that it seemed to smile before it poofed out of existence. "ALICE!" He yelled as he ran towards the door, the others too wrapped up in trying to figure out what went wrong. There was someone pounding on the other side of the door. "Alice, can you hear me?" He shouted.

A muffled reply of terror, made him realize that while he could hear her, she couldn't hear him. "Ivan! Get over here and help me bust down this door! Alice is in trouble!"

ALICE'S POV

"Alfred! Anyone! Can you hear me?" Alice cried as she shook the door. A low laugh resonated from behind her.

"Aww, is little Alice lost?" A sickly low voice asked. She froze. "It's been a long time, hasn't it? Almost six years tomorrow."

"Azazeal." Alice said in a deadly whisper. Slowly, she turned around to see the dark form of a man. Green light poured out of the sockets where eyes should have been, and escaped from sewn shut lips.

"So you do remember me? How sweet. Of course, I remember you. Like that one time that I had my hands around your pretty little throat. Or that other time that I was so far into your mind that they sent you to the psych ward. It made me so sad when you had those witches send me away to the other world, but I guess that not everyone is cut out to do my spell. Your friend couldn't either, but don't worry, once I finish what I started, I'll pay them a visit. You would like that, wouldn't you? To have some real friends with you for all eternity."

"L-leave them out of this." Alice whispered, the fear spreading.

"No, no, that just won't do. Remember, I have to make your life a literal living nightmare." The shadow form disappeared and she could feel his breathing from behind her. Before she could turn around, a thin, dead, and cold hand grabbed her arm. She slammed into the wall. Struggling, she stood unsteadily on her feet and was knocked over again, this time into a bookcase, where it toppled on top. Her vision swam mercilessly as she was picked up again, cradled in the demon's arms. "Poor thing, no wonder your parents don't love you." He sighed, while petting her hair. The strong smell of sulfur reached her nostrils, making her choke on air. The dead hands found their way to her neck again, as Azazeal started humming a lullaby.

Alice struggled to breath, her own hands trying to pry his from her throat. Maybe she should just give up. "ALICE!" A scream from outside roused her from her drifting sleep. Alfred? She bolted back into consciousness. No. She couldn't die or Azazeal would kill him and the others.

"Qui... adolebit foeda…. manibus t-tangere..." She forced out. Azazeal screamed as the flesh of his hands burned and he dropped her. She sidestepped him and ran towards the door, rasping out a loud, "`Aperire januas et diem sacratissimum!" The doors came crashing open, just as the demon's foot caught her back, sending her spiraling into the next room. Her friends stood frozen either at the circle or on the floor where the opening door had flung them.

"Now, now, Little Alice, you know better than to use magic on me." The demon clucked. Alice's strength was beyond depleted, she could barely rise. He caught her by the throat again and flung her into the podium. A loud snap, signified that she had probably broke something. Dots in her vision danced, as she heard her friends screaming her name. A scuffle reached her ears, but not her mind. Opening her eyes a smidged, she could see Alfred pinned beneath Azazeal, Alfred's knife in the latter's hands.

"No…" she croaked. Standing up, and catching sight of the circle around her she whispered, "Azazeal Daemones appellamus: de deorsum nec eorum ut ostendat hoc circulo excedas." The demon growled ferally as he was pulled into the circle with her, knife still in hand.

"What are you doing, Alice!? Don't do it!" She heard one of the others say.

"This is between me and you, not them." Alice snarled.

"So we are doing the old dance I presume? ? Oh, goody. Try to win this time."

Translations:

Azazeal Daemones appellamus: de deorsum nec eorum ut ostendat hoc circulo excedas.- still the same summoning chant as before.

Qui adolebit foeda manibus tangere- (Basically) burn the hands that hold me (More or less)

`Aperire januas et diem sacratissimum!- Open the sacred doors!

Author's Notes:

Phew, that chapter actually caused me stress and I will probably be having nightmares tonight. I hope you don't mind that it is like super short. The next one will probably be the shortest since I'm just going to finish the fight, but yeah… So who is kind of creeped out by Azazeal? I sure am. I love the villains that even the author is terrified of.


	8. Chapter 8

Case #3 (Part 8)

ALICE POV

Streams of light bleared around the edges of the circle, magic weaving them into the enclosed sphere. A dueling sphere. The ones on the outside could not interfere as long as the boundary setter was still conscious. And Alice didn't think it would be up for long at the rate that her energy was depleting. She was barely able to stand, let alone keep the boundary up for much longer. But she had to, or her friends would suffer the consequences.

"Still thinking about others I see," Azazeal chuckled softly at her nervous glance towards the magic wall. "It always was your weakness. The same thing will happen as it did in the past."

"Not everything is the same." She sent a wall of energy against him.

He dodged easily, before remarking, "I see. But your still my little lost Alice." The demon disappeared into the mist on the floor. The spots only worsened her anxiety as she nearly lost the ability to see. When it finally returned, there was no trace of where the demon stood. She whirled around wildly, her brain trying to make up for lost time. Where was he?!

"Show yourself!" She screamed, lashing out with her emotions. Her heart pounded within her chest, about to burst. Breaths became jagged and uneven. Losing oxygen more than she was breathing it in, she nearly fell. Alice turned as she heard a whisper of footsteps. Nothing. "STOP IT!" She shrieked. Another burst of energy was released and another. No. She wouldn't lose control again. Not to fear.

"Behind you." A hushed breath on her neck cooed. Darkness blasted at her, pinning her to the ground, a knife-like point digging into her spine. She moaned in pain, which soon turned into a scream as it pressed further. "What? No more fighting?" A barely hidden snicker followed. "Now what Mummy and Daddy say if they saw you? Oh, my baby!" He faked the wail of her mother. That stopped the fear.

She laughed. For the first time in a while, Alice laughed. Ignoring the tremendous pain she was in, the emotional torment, she just laughed. "W-What are you doing?" Azazeal asked, his own fear creeping into his voice.

"You- You sound nothing like my mother." She giggled. In a flash she had him pinned down on the floor, underneath her knees. Alfred's knife clattered to the floor as he lost power. "Let me show you how my mother acts." She stood up. Flicking her hand to reach out to the fallen weapon, it flew into her hand. The comforting lights of her familiars returned at this point, no longer blocked by the demon. Turning towards him, Alice smiled cruelly. No longer did she see him as the enemy who was always one step ahead of her. He was not in her head like she had thought. He didn't know what she was thinking.

Azazeal got to his feet, the revolting smile back on his face. "What are you going on about girly?" He asked in his usual voice. There was a slight tremor. That was all she needed.

"Oh, just the fact that my mother despises me. I was disowned years ago. You're not in my head." She smiled. The air around her started to churn around her with a malevolent spirit to them. The lights of her familiars joined within her to finish the spell. In the air she drew the banishing sigil that she had learned so long ago. "Dehinc ad inferos Daemon. Nequaquam ad hunc cum absorpta fuerit mors in manu mea hæc, et non morieris. Minis mei facio bonum sanguine." She shouted with power more mighty than that of Merlin. Azazeal screamed as he was forced towards a pit that she had created in the ground that was to send him to where he belonged. Hell. She was about to turn when his hand wrapped around her ankle, pulling her towards the circle into hell.

Screaming, she kicked furiously at him as they were both dragged further into the swirling pit of doom, her hand catching onto an upturned peace of the floor from the magical whirlpool. "You cannot escape me, Little Lost Alice!" He taunted, "If I go you go!" Her hand slipped.

...

She kept falling further and further, screaming for help and losing all concentration.

...

The warm fire below burned her skin and seemed to boil her blood. The screams of tormented dead clawed at her ears. Azazeal's low pitched laugh cackling as he was returned home with a prize.

...

The portal between world began to close, trapping her inside the dimension of damnation.

...

She reached out one final time, pleading…

…

… a hand grabbed her own and started to pull her back out, the doorway nearly shut. More hands joined the one, trying their best to pull her out before it was too late.

…

The hole was nearly shut,skimming her waist as it slipped through the barrier, a cursed hand still trying to bring her down with it's owner.

…

The portal closed right as her foot left the pit behind. She collapsed in a heap, her heart never missing a tenth of a second to pound as hard as it could. The ringing in her ears had yet to fade, but a distant yet close sound made its way above it, as the hands shook her to rouse her.

"ALICE! Are you okay?! Answer me!" Alfred was standing over her, checking every inch of her for injury, a gentle hand brushing against her cheek.

"A- Alfred." She was able to whisper as her heart calmed down and her ability to breathe returned. "Is- Is it over?"

He laughed nervously glancing around, "Yeah, I guess it is. How do you feel?"

"Peaceful. I finally fixed my mistake. Mum and Dad would be proud…" Alice felt herself gently lifted up as she drifted off to sleep. Now she could sleep without the nightmares.

Translations:

Dehinc ad inferos Daemon. Nequaquam ad hunc cum absorpta fuerit mors in manu mea hæc, et non morieris. Minis mei facio bonum sanguine- I banish you to hell, demon. You will never come back or you will die by my hand. I seal this pact with my blood (Sort of)

Author's Notes:

I think I gave myself a panic attack, I actually was unsure if I was going to let Alice make it there. I know, I know I'm evil. So there is only one more chapter, sadly. It's just the normal wrap up, but DO NOT SKIP! It actually leads into the next case and is fairly important. I'll get to writing.


	9. Chapter 9

Case #3 (Part 9)

ALICE POV

"Thanks again for helpin' out, sis." Angus said as he hugged Alice goodbye. In a lower tone he said, "Mum and Dad were wrong to kick you out. You know that right?"

"Yeah, they're all a bunch of gits… thanks Angus, you were more help than you thought. It was nice to see you." She whispered back. She sighed, for the first time, to say goodbye as she boarded her next flight back to America with the others, sadly being seated next to her annoying boyfriend- or whatever Alfred was calling himself- who had insisted on eating gummy bears before the ride.

This was going to be a long flight.

ALICE POV

"Hello, Frog." She greeted briskly as she stepped off the plain to see not only Francis but a still banged up Maddie.

"What are you doing on your feet, Maddie?!" Tao screamed once she saw the Canadian, going all mother hen on her.

"If the doctors say that I can be on my feet, I think I can manage." She replied with a smile. "So how was England?" Francis raised an eyebrow in Alice's direction, as if he knew something was up. with the way she and Alfred were standing close.

The others turned to her, waiting for the okay to speak. "Awful," was her only reply.

Alfred scoffed, "it wasn't that bad! I was there!"

"You being there didn't make me getting a concussion any better or the fact that I was psychologically pulled apart by a demon!" She yelled in return.

"W-wait, what?! What happened in England?"

"We will let you know later. How is Felicia doing?" Ivan asked as he got done grabbing everyone's luggage to carry it out to the van that Alfred had left to Francis to take care of, albeit begrudgingly. The mood took a silent turn.

"She is doing better," Maddie started nervously, "the doctors said that it was so unusual that she..."

"That she vhat?" Ludwig asked.

"She woke up." Francis said with a grin as Maddie broke out as well.

"What!? Why didnt you tell us that she was awake, aru! We would have come home sooner!" Tao screamed. Everyone looked at each other, the hidden anxiety over their friend depleting quickly. Ludwig was smiling.

"I agree vith, Tao, you should have told us."

"We figured it would be a nice surprise, besides she only woke up last night. She can't wait for you guys to come to the hospital," she slapped her head, "Maple! We need to take you there right now so you can see her!" Maddie exclaimed. Francis caught her arm before she started off in her excitement.

"Calmez-vous, ma chère. Felicia voudrait pas que vous tirez vos points de suture soit, et les autres venons de rentrer, Felicia peut attendre un peu plus longtemps." He said in a caring fashion. Maddie breathed in softly before nodding. Then her phone went off. A strange ringtone singing the Tiki Room started to go off, Maddie turning a bright hue of red.

She glanced at the caller ID, gave a confused face, and answered the phone, "Juan? Why are you calling me?" A faint and rapid reply. "What? What? No, I can't understand you when you talk that fast... No, I still don't speak Spanish... alright. Uh, huh. I'll see what I can do. Bye."

"Who was that?" Alice asked.

"An old friend. Juan. He... he has a case for us."

"What's going on?"

"He's being haunted." She paused.

"And?" Alice gestured for her to continue.

"... he says that he has a problem. And it's gotten worse."

Translations:

Calmez-vous, ma chère. Felicia voudrait pas que vous tirez vos points de suture soit, et les autres venons de rentrer, Felicia peut attendre un peu plus longtemps- Calm down, dear. Felicia wouldn't want you to pull out your stitches either, and the others just got back, Felicia can wait a little longer

Author's Notes:

I LOVE GUMMY BEARS! And now dragonette is hiding my stash in a vault ("No gummy bears for you! I'm not dealing with that today! I'm really tired and you get way to hyper and I am not prepared for that today!"*throws key to safe out the window and locks all the doors to the outside*). And that is a wrap for Case #3. I will warn you that the next story might be a little disturbing, so if you are going to stop reading the story, I would suggest doing it now. Well, I- (*Person enters the house* "Did one of you guys lose a key? I found it outside." *looks around to see only me who grabs the key and yells* "THANKS!" *dragonette screams in horror as the safe is opened*). BYE, BYE!


End file.
